Dr Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor in the UK, has been accused of selling fake job opportunities in a BBC undercover investigation into immigration fraud
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] UK-based Nigerian doctor, Dr. Kelvin Alaneme, has been accused of selling fake job opportunities to foreign nationals, following a BBC undercover investigation that caught him allegedly facilitating immigration fraud.
Also read: Resident doctors threaten strike over prolonged colleague abduction
Dr. Alaneme, a psychiatrist and founder of the Harlow-based agency CareerEdu, is at the centre of a controversy after secretly filmed footage revealed the extent of the scam.
The BBC’s investigation was prompted by multiple complaints about CareerEdu’s relocation services. The agency, which claims to provide “global opportunities for young Africans,” reportedly misled individuals seeking to move to the UK for employment.
The BBC documented how Dr. Alaneme allegedly promised lucrative opportunities to a journalist posing as a business partner, offering substantial financial rewards for securing non-existent care home jobs in the UK.
In the secretly recorded footage, Dr. Alaneme boasted that he could make his associate “a millionaire” by securing care home vacancies.
He allegedly offered £2,000 per vacancy, plus a £500 commission. These positions, according to the report, were to be sold to unsuspecting job seekers, primarily from Nigeria. Dr. Alaneme also admitted that candidates were being charged for positions that should have been free.
One victim, identified as Praise, a Nigerian man in his 30s, paid over £10,000 for a UK-based care job through CareerEdu, only to discover upon arrival that the job did not exist.
Praise recounted his experience, explaining how he had been assured of a job with a care company called “Efficiency for Care,” only to find no such opportunity waiting for him. Despite months of communication with Dr. Alaneme and the company, the promised role never materialised.
The investigation revealed discrepancies in the employment records of Efficiency for Care, which had allegedly issued over 1,200 Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for foreign workers, despite employing a fraction of that number in 2023.
Dr. Alaneme is further accused of creating false sponsorship documents for individuals seeking work in the UK, a move that could lead to severe immigration violations, including deportation for those arriving on fake visas.
In a meeting captured by the BBC, Dr. Alaneme described how he would fabricate payroll systems to cover up the lack of real employment, claiming that migrants could choose any UK city to settle in, a statement later debunked by immigration experts.
Responding to the allegations, Dr. Alaneme denied any involvement in a scam, insisting that CareerEdu was not a recruitment agency, but rather a platform that connected candidates with legitimate employers.
He maintained that the payments made by clients, including Praise, were used to cover expenses for transportation, accommodation, and training, not as part of a fraudulent scheme.
“I have never scammed or defrauded anyone in my life,” Dr. Alaneme wrote in a post on his social media page. He also clarified that any extra charges were disclosed upfront and that clients who did not secure employment were refunded their costs.
CareerEdu’s stated goal, he added, was to link qualified individuals to licenced employers, with the majority of clients successfully finding jobs in the UK.
However, he acknowledged occasional miscommunication between employers and recruiters, which led to overstatements about job availability.
Dr. Alaneme also referred to a partnership with a company called Borderless, which he claimed had provided better options for job seekers but was ultimately unsatisfactory.
This investigation highlights the growing issue of immigration fraud schemes targeting vulnerable individuals seeking better opportunities abroad.
Also read: Parents preventing children from vaccinations are liable to imprisonment, Doctors warn
Dr. Alaneme’s case follows a similar high-profile incident in 2024, where four Nigerians were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a large-scale immigration scam using fake marriage certificates to enable illegal residency in the UK.
